Affiliation:
1. Department of Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2. Microbial Pathogenesis and Cell Biology Laboratory, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Oeiras, Portugal
Abstract
SUMMARY
In
order to maintain shape and withstand intracellular pressure, most
bacteria are surrounded by a cell wall that consists mainly of the
cross-linked polymer peptidoglycan (PG). The importance of PG for the
maintenance of bacterial cell shape is underscored by the fact that,
for various bacteria, several mutations affecting PG synthesis are
associated with cell shape defects. In recent years, the application of
fluorescence microscopy to the field of PG synthesis has led to an
enormous increase in data on the relationship between cell wall
synthesis and bacterial cell shape. First, a novel staining method
enabled the visualization of PG precursor incorporation in live cells.
Second, penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), which mediate the final
stages of PG synthesis, have been localized in various model organisms
by means of immunofluorescence microscopy or green fluorescent protein
fusions. In this review, we integrate the knowledge on the last stages
of PG synthesis obtained in previous studies with the new data
available on localization of PG synthesis and PBPs, in both rod-shaped
and coccoid cells. We discuss a model in which, at least for a subset
of PBPs, the presence of substrate is a major factor in determining PBP
localization.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Molecular Biology,Microbiology,Infectious Diseases
Cited by
498 articles.
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